The Coronavirus Diaries

I have lost count of how many weeks I have been under lockdown. Lately I find myself needing new ways to inject a little bit more inspiration , fun or surprise into my daily routine. Easier said than done.

Of course, staying healthy and motivated are my real priorities, but boredom is a fact of the coronavirus pandemic for everyone. The stress of the lockdown, the uncertainty of its ultimate outcome and not having any good answers before then also have a toll.

I want to congratulate those in the online chess community who have been providing entertainment during the pandemic. Particular mention goes to ChessBrah, Chess24 and ChessCom., and there are some others also. Sometimes a bit infantile and bimbo-ish, but always positive, cheerful and entertaining! Hence, please forgive the description (for lack of a better word) ‘Chess Porn ‘. Keep up the good work!

FIDE Preparing for the Worse?

The year 2020 will likely go down in FIDE’s history as the year of the perfect storm. First the Coronavirus happened, halting all international over the board tournaments and in person meetings. This also means that FIDE is not earning any income, nor can it prepare bids for future events.

This has tremendous short term ramifications for FIDE — which is really just a vassal of the Russian Chess Federation for the past 2 decades since Kremlin oligarchs gained outright control — not least because no international tournaments will be allowed to be organized in Russia for the next 4 years. And that means NO Russian financing…

As FIDE has very few sponsors outside of Russia, it is very possible that FIDE will melt down as calls for Dvorkovich’s resignation multiply. It is expected that FIDE will announce the postponement of the 2020 World Chess Championship until the end of 2021 within weeks. An avalanche of shit is quickly catching up to the FIDE leadership…